"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Lazy Day

Eli is still battling a cough and some wheeziness, so we hung out at the hotel most of the day. He woke up last night in the night crying out and again at nap today. I think I figured out that it is because if he can't see us, he gets upset and scared. I think this is a good thing. We are praying that he soon knows that we are "his people" and can trust us.

We ate breakfast with one of the other moms today who is originally from China, but has lived in Chicago for quite some time. She has 2 boys at home and just adopted a little girl. She told us that many people do not understand why she would adopt and she said that she and her husband have felt led by God to do this ... to be an example for other Chinese people that adoption is an option. I was really inspired by her story. In China if you have a child, you are not allowed to adopt. But if you are Chinese in the U.S., no law is there to stop someone from adopting.

We ventured to the playroom today. Eli was a lot more active there (as long as daddy wasn't watching). He walked all around the ball pit holding on with one hand, sat down, crawled and stood up with little effort. This is the first time we have gotten to see him do a lot of these things. He has his moments when he lets loose and shows us what he can do.

I asked the nannies the other day if he usually feeds himself and holds his bottle because he acted like he didn't know how. The nannies said that he does hold his own bottle and laughed that he wasn't doing it for us. Well, he now is holding his bottle. I think that he was just being a little stinker.

Michael did go out with some of the other dads to grab dinner. He took some pictures along the way that I thought we'd share. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to the Shaolin Temple where it is believed to be the birthplace of KungFu. Will see if we are able to go because Eli's cough is still bad.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Zhengzhou. We are ready to go to Guangzhou and to be on the last leg of our trip. We are also ready for the warmer temps!!

The Fam

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We are the Garland family. Michael, Heather, Aidan (12), Keenan (9), Isabella (8) and Eli (3). We brought Isabella home in August of 2009, and Eli home in February 2013. We hope you enjoy our journey as a family of 6!

Aidan

Keenan

Bella

Eli

Our four blessings

Timeline

February 15: Apply to CCAI;
February 16: Apply to FAC (homestudy agency);
May 24: Received Final Homestudy;
May 25: Sent I800A application to USCIS;
July 11: USCIS Approval;
July 20: DTC;
July 24: LID;
August 9: LOI submitted to China, Eli's file locked!!;
August 17: Pre-approval from China;
September 19: Out of Translation;
November 1: LOA;
November 21: USCIS Provisional 800 Approval;
December 18: Article 5 issued;
January 9: Travel Approval!;
January 21: Eli in our arms forever!!